New Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has promised to prioritize judicial independence during the two years that he will be serving. In his first media briefing since becoming the new Chief Justice, Zondo said his number one priority is to extend the work which has already been undertaken by former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng to protect the institutional independence of the South African judiciary.
Allegations made by prominent figures like the public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane and the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Julius Malema, of judicial capture, Zondo said were “very serious”, and “should not be made lightly by anybody.” Zondo further said, “It is not in the interest of anybody who loves this country to portray the judiciary as captured. If anybody has evidence… they must come forward.”
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The response comes after EFF leader Julius Malema made a bold claim that some of the judges were captured in favour of president Cyril Ramaphosa and his faction within the ANC. Malema made this claim during a Human Rights Day rally in Sharpeville on Monday.
Zondo said, “There have been allegations made that Pretoria high court judges favoured president Cyril Ramaphosa. I have yet to see any one of them [accuser] who has taken the trouble to look at various judgements, analyse them and show how it can be said that the decision that have been arrived at are decisions that cannot be supported by evidence, but simply that they are a manifestation of a biased mind on the part of the judges concerned to find in favour of the president, even when there is no evidence supporting that.” Zondo promised to protect judicial independence during his term.
Source: Times Live, Daily Maverick, image from Times Live
